Bill Text: FL S1844 | 2011 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Career and Professional Academies
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-05-07 - Indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration [S1844 Detail]
Download: Florida-2011-S1844-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2011 CS for SB 1844 By the Committee on Education Pre-K - 12; and Senator Gaetz 581-02913-11 20111844c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to career and professional academies; 3 amending s. 1003.491, F.S.; revising provisions 4 relating to the Florida Career and Professional 5 Education Act; replacing references to local workforce 6 boards with regional workforce boards; requiring that 7 economic development agencies collaborate with each 8 district school board, regional workforce boards, and 9 postsecondary institutions to develop a strategic 5 10 year plan that addresses local and regional workforce 11 demands; requiring that the strategic plan include 12 access to courses offered through virtual education 13 providers and a review of career and professional 14 academy courses; requiring that the strategic plan be 15 reviewed, updated, and jointly approved; amending s. 16 1003.492, F.S.; revising provisions relating to 17 industry-certified career education programs to 18 conform to changes made by the act; requiring that 19 rules adopted by the State Board of Education include 20 an approval process for determining the funding 21 weights of industry certifications; requiring that the 22 performance factors for students participating in 23 industry-certified career education programs include 24 awards of postsecondary credit and state scholarships; 25 amending s. 1003.493, F.S.; revising provisions 26 relating to career and professional academies to 27 conform to changes made by the act; requiring that 28 career and professional academies discontinue 29 enrollment of students for the following year if the 30 passage rate on the industry certification exam falls 31 below 50 percent; amending s. 1011.62, F.S.; revising 32 provisions relating to the calculation of additional 33 full-time equivalent membership based on certification 34 of successful completion of industry-certified career 35 and professional academy programs; requiring that the 36 value of full-time equivalent membership be determined 37 by weights adopted by the State Board of Education; 38 amending s. 1012.39, F.S.; requiring that each 39 district school board establish qualifications for 40 nondegreed teachers of career and technical education 41 courses for program clusters recognized in the state; 42 authorizing district school boards to establish 43 alternative qualifications for certain teachers; 44 creating s. 1003.4935, F.S.; requiring that each 45 district school board, in collaboration with regional 46 workforce boards, economic development agencies, and 47 state-approved postsecondary institutions, include a 48 component in the strategic 5-year plan to implement a 49 career and professional academy in at least one middle 50 school in each district; providing requirements for 51 the middle school career and professional academies; 52 requiring that the Department of Education collect and 53 report student achievement data for middle school 54 career academy students; amending s. 1008.34, F.S.; 55 conforming provisions relating to the designation of 56 school grades to changes made by the act; providing an 57 effective date. 58 59 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 60 61 Section 1. Subsections (2), (3), and (5) of section 62 1003.491, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 63 1003.491 Florida Career and Professional Education Act.—The 64 Florida Career and Professional Education Act is created to 65 provide a statewide planning partnership between the business 66 and education communities in order to attract, expand, and 67 retain targeted, high-value industry and to sustain a strong, 68 knowledge-based economy. 69 (2)Beginning with the 2007-2008 school year,Each district 70 school board shall develop, in collaboration with regionallocal71 workforce boards, economic development agencies, and 72 postsecondary institutions approved to operate in the state, a 73 strategic 5-year plan to address and meet local and regional 74 workforce demands. If involvement of atheregionallocal75 workforce board or an economic development agency in the 76 strategic plan development is not feasible, the local school 77 board, with the approval of the Agency for Workforce Innovation, 78 shall collaborate with the most appropriate regionallocal79 business leadership board. Two or more school districts may 80 collaborate in the development of the strategic plan and offer a 81 career and professional academy as a joint venture. The 82 strategic planSuch plansmust describe in detail provisions for 83 the efficient transportation of students, the maximum use of 84 shared resources,andaccess to courses aligned to state 85 curriculum standards through virtual education providers, and an 86 objective review of career and professional academy courses to 87 determine if the courses will lead to the attainment of industry 88 certifications included on the Industry Certified Funding List 89 pursuant to rules adopted by the State Board of Educationthe90Florida Virtual School when appropriate. Each strategic plan 91 shall be reviewed, updated, and jointly approved every 5 years 92 by the local school district, regional workforce boards, 93 economic development agencies, and state-approved postsecondary 94 institutionscompleted no later than June 30, 2008, and shall95include provisions to have in place at least one operational96career and professional academy, pursuant to s.1003.492, no97later than the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year. 98 (3) The strategic 5-year plan developed jointly between the 99 local school district, regionallocalworkforce boards, economic 100 development agencies, and state-approved postsecondary 101 institutions shall be constructed and based on: 102 (a) Research conducted to objectively determine local and 103 regional workforce needs for the ensuing 5 years, using labor 104 projections of the United States Department of Labor and the 105 Agency for Workforce Innovation; 106 (b) Strategies to develop and implement career academies 107 based on those careers determined to be in high demand; 108 (c) Maximum use of private sector facilities and personnel; 109 (d) Strategies that ensure instruction by industry 110 certified faculty and standards and strategies to maintain 111 current industry credentials and for recruiting and retaining 112 faculty to meet those standards; 113 (e) Alignment oftorequirements for middle school career 114 exploration, middle and high school career and professional 115 academies leading to industry certification, and high school 116 graduation requirementsredesign; 117 (f) Provisions to ensure that courses offered through 118 career and professional academies are academically rigorous, 119 meet or exceed appropriate state-adopted subject area standards, 120 result in attainment of industry certification, and, when 121 appropriate, result in postsecondary credit; 122 (g) Strategies to improve the passage rate for industry 123 certification exams that fall below 50 percent; 124 (h)(g)Establishment of student eligibility criteria in 125 career and professional academies which include opportunities 126 for students who have been unsuccessful in traditional 127 classrooms but who show aptitude to participate in academies. 128 School boards shall address the analysis of eighth grade student 129 achievement data to provide opportunities for students who may 130 be deemed as potential dropouts to participate in career and 131 professional academies; 132 (i)(h)Strategies to provide sufficient space within 133 academies to meet workforce needs and to provide access to all 134 interested and qualified students; 135 (j)(i)Strategies to implementengage Department of136Juvenile Justice students incareer and professional academy 137 training that leads to industry certification in Department of 138 Juvenile Justice facilities; 139 (k)(j)Opportunities for high school students to earn 140 weighted or dual enrollment credit for higher-level career and 141 technical courses; 142 (l)(k)Promotion of the benefits of the Gold Seal Bright 143 Futures Scholarship; 144 (m)(l)Strategies to ensure the review of district pupil 145 progression plans and to amend such plans to include career and 146 professional courses and to include courses that may qualify as 147 substitute courses for core graduation requirements and those 148 that may be counted as elective courses; and 149 (n)(m)Strategies to provide professional development for 150 secondary guidance counselors on the benefits of career and 151 professional academies. 152 (5) The submission and review of newly proposed core 153 courses shall be conducted electronically, and each proposed 154 core course shall be approved or denied within 60 days. All 155 courses approved as core courses for purposes of middle school 156 promotion and high school graduationpurposesshall be 157 immediately added to the Course Code Directory. Approved core 158 courses shall also be reviewed and considered for approval for 159 dual enrollment credit. The Board of Governors and the 160 Commissioner of Education shall jointly recommend an annual 161 deadline for approval of new core courses to be included for 162 purposes of postsecondary admissions and dual enrollment credit 163 the following academic year. The State Board of Education shall 164 establish an appeals process in the event that a proposed course 165 is denied which shall require a consensus ruling by the Agency 166 for Workforce Innovation and the Commissioner of Education 167 within 15 days. The curriculum review committee must be 168 established and operational no later than September 1, 2007. 169 Section 2. Subsections (2) and (3) of section 1003.492, 170 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 171 1003.492 Industry-certified career education programs.— 172 (2) The State Board of Education shall use the expertise of 173 Workforce Florida, Inc., and Enterprise Florida, Inc., to 174 develop and adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 175 for implementing an industry certification process. These rules 176 shall include an approval process for determining the funding 177 weights of industry certifications based on the rigor of the 178 certification and the value of the certification to Florida 179 businesses and industry. Industry certification shall be defined 180 by the Agency for Workforce Innovation, based upon the highest 181 available national standards for specific industry 182 certification, to ensure student skill proficiency and to 183 address emerging labor market and industry trends. A regional 184 workforce board or a career and professional academy may apply 185 to Workforce Florida, Inc., to request additions to the approved 186 list of industry certifications based on high-demand job 187 requirements in the regional economy. The list of industry 188 certifications approved by Workforce Florida, Inc., and the 189 Department of Education shall be published and updated annually 190 by a date certain, to be included in the adopted rule. 191 (3) The Department of Education shall collect student 192 achievement and performance data in industry-certified career 193 education programs and shall work with Workforce Florida, Inc., 194 and Enterprise Florida, Inc., in the analysis of collected data. 195 The data collection and analyses shall examine the performance 196 of participating students over time. Performance factors shall 197 include, but not be limited to, graduation rates, retention 198 rates, awards of postsecondary credit and state scholarships 199 under chapter 1009Florida Bright Futures Scholarship awards, 200 additional educational attainment, employment records, earnings, 201 industry certification, and employer satisfaction. The 202 performance results and analysesof this studyshall be 203 submitted to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the 204 House of Representatives annually by December 31. 205 Section 3. Subsections (2), (4), (5), and (6) of section 206 1003.493, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 207 1003.493 Career and professional academies.— 208 (2) The goals of a career and professional academy are to: 209 (a) Increase student academic achievement and graduation 210 rates through integrated academic and career curricula. 211 (b) Prepare graduating high school students to make 212 appropriate choices relative to employment and future 213 educational experiences. 214 (c) Focus on career preparation through rigorous academics 215 and industry certification. 216 (d) Raise student aspiration and commitment to academic 217 achievement and work ethics through relevant coursework. 218(e) Support graduation requirements pursuant to s.1003.428219by providing creative, applied major areas of interest.220 (e)(f)Promote acceleration mechanisms, such as dual 221 enrollment, articulated credit, or occupational completion 222 points, so that students may earn postsecondary credit while in 223 high school. 224 (f)(g)Support the state’s economy by meeting industry 225 needs for skilled employees in high-demand occupations. 226 (4) Each career and professional academy must: 227 (a) Provide a rigorous standards-based academic curriculum 228 integrated with a career curriculum. The curriculum must take 229 into consideration multiple styles of student learning; promote 230 learning by doing through application and adaptation; maximize 231 relevance of the subject matter; enhance each student’s capacity 232 to excel; and include an emphasis on work habits and work 233 ethics. 234 (b) Include one or more partnerships with postsecondary 235 institutions, businesses, industry, employers, economic 236 development organizations, or other appropriate partners from 237 the local community. Such partnerships shall be delineated in 238 articulation agreements to provide for career-based courses that 239 earn postsecondary credit. Such agreements may include 240 articulation between the academy and public or private 2-year 241 and 4-year postsecondary institutions and technical centers. The 242 Department of Education, in consultation with the Board of 243 Governors, shall establish a mechanism to ensure articulation 244 and transfer of credits to postsecondary institutions in this 245 state. Such partnerships must provide opportunities for: 246 1. Instruction from highly skilled professionals who 247 possess industry-certification credentials for courses they are 248 teaching. 249 2. Internships, externships, and on-the-job training. 250 3. A postsecondary degree, diploma, or certificate. 251 4. The highest available level of industry certification. 252 5. Maximum articulation of credits pursuant to s. 1007.23 253 upon program completion. 254 (c) Provide shared, maximum use of private sector 255 facilities and personnel. 256 (d) Provide personalized student advisement, including a 257 parent-participation component, and coordination with middle 258 schools to promote and support career exploration and education 259 planning as required under s. 1003.4156. Coordination with 260 middle schools must provide information to middle school 261 students about secondary and postsecondary career education 262 programs and academies. 263 (e) Promote and provide opportunities for career and 264 professional academy students to attain, at minimum, the Florida 265 Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award pursuant to s. 1009.536. 266 (f) Provide instruction in careers designated as high 267 growth, high demand, and high pay by the regionallocal268 workforce development board, the chamber of commerce, economic 269 development agencies, or the Agency for Workforce Innovation. 270 (g) Deliver academic content through instruction relevant 271 to the career, including intensive reading and mathematics 272 intervention required by s. 1003.428, with an emphasis on 273 strengthening reading for information skills. 274 (h) Offer applied courses that combine academic content 275 with technical skills. 276 (i) Provide instruction resulting in competency, 277 certification, or credentials in workplace skills, including, 278 but not limited to, communication skills, interpersonal skills, 279 decisionmaking skills, the importance of attendance and 280 timeliness in the work environment, and work ethics. 281(j) Provide opportunities for students to obtain the282Florida Ready to Work Certification pursuant to s.1004.99.283(k) Include an evaluation plan developed jointly with the284Department of Education and the local workforce board. The285evaluation plan must include an assessment tool based on286national industry standards, such as the Career Academy National287Standards of Practice, and outcome measures, including, but not288limited to, achievement of national industry certifications289identified in the Industry Certification Funding List, pursuant290to rules adopted by the State Board of Education, graduation291rates, enrollment in postsecondary education, business and292industry satisfaction, employment and earnings, awards of293postsecondary credit and scholarships, and student achievement294levels and learning gains on statewide assessments administered295under s.1008.22(3)(c). The Department of Education shall use296Workforce Florida, Inc., and Enterprise Florida, Inc., in297identifying industry experts to participate in developing and298implementing such assessments.299 (j)(l)Include a plan to sustain career and professional 300 academies. 301 (k)(m)Redirect appropriated career funding to career and 302 professional academies. 303 (5) All career courses offered in a career and professional 304 academy must lead to industry certification or college credit 305 linked directly to the career theme of the course. If the 306 passage rate on the industry certification exam that is 307 associated with the career and professional academy falls below 308 50 percent, the academy must discontinue enrollment of students 309 the following school year.At least 50 percent of students310enrolled in a career course must achieve industry certifications311or college credits during the second year the course is offered312in order for the course to be offered a third year. At least 66313percent of students enrolled in such a course must achieve314industry certifications or college credits during the third year315the course is offered in order for it to be offered a fourth316year and thereafter.317 (6) Workforce Florida, Inc., through the secondary career 318 academies initiatives,The Okaloosa County School District319CHOICE Institutesshall serve in an advisory role andshall320 offer technical assistance in the development and deployment of 321 newly established career and professional academiesfor a 3-year322period beginning July 1, 2007. 323 Section 4. Paragraph (p) of subsection (1) of section 324 1011.62, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 325 1011.62 Funds for operation of schools.—If the annual 326 allocation from the Florida Education Finance Program to each 327 district for operation of schools is not determined in the 328 annual appropriations act or the substantive bill implementing 329 the annual appropriations act, it shall be determined as 330 follows: 331 (1) COMPUTATION OF THE BASIC AMOUNT TO BE INCLUDED FOR 332 OPERATION.—The following procedure shall be followed in 333 determining the annual allocation to each district for 334 operation: 335 (p) Calculation of additional full-time equivalent 336 membership based on certification of successful completion of 337 industry-certified career and professional academy programs 338 pursuant to ss. 1003.491, 1003.492,and1003.493, and 1003.4935 339 and identified in the Industry Certified Funding List pursuant 340 to rules adopted by the State Board of Education.—A maximum 341 value of 0.3 full-time equivalent student membership shall be 342 calculated for each student who completes an industry-certified 343 career and professional academy program under ss. 1003.491, 344 1003.492,and1003.493, and 1003.4935 and who is issued the 345 highest level of industry certification identified annually in 346 the Industry Certification Funding List approved under rules 347 adopted by the State Board of Education and a high school 348 diploma. The value of full-time equivalent student membership 349 shall be determined by weights adopted by the State Board of 350 Education pursuant to s. 1003.492. Such value shall be added to 351 the total full-time equivalent student membership in secondary 352 career education programs for grades 9 through 12 in the 353 subsequent year for courses that were not funded through dual 354 enrollment. The additional full-time equivalent membership 355 authorized under this paragraph may not exceed 0.3 per student. 356 Allocated funds shall be proportionately prorated and 357 distributed to middle school career and professional academies 358 for those students who earned industry certifications. Each 359 district must allocate at least 80 percent of the funds 360 generated by student attainment of anprovided forindustry 361 certification, in accordance with this paragraph, to the program 362 in which the student earned the industry certificationthat363generated the funds. Unless a different amount is specified in 364 the General Appropriations Act, the appropriation for this 365 calculation is limited to $15 million annually. If the 366 appropriation is insufficient to fully fund the total 367 calculation, the appropriation shall be prorated. 368 Section 5. Subsection (1) of section 1012.39, Florida 369 Statutes, is amended to read: 370 1012.39 Employment of substitute teachers, teachers of 371 adult education, nondegreed teachers of career education, and 372 career specialists; students performing clinical field 373 experience.— 374 (1) Notwithstanding ss. 1012.32, 1012.55, 1012.56, and 375 1012.57, or any other provision of law or rule to the contrary, 376 each district school board shall establish the minimal 377 qualifications for: 378 (a) Substitute teachers to be employed pursuant to s. 379 1012.35. The qualifications shall require the filing of a 380 complete set of fingerprints in the same manner as required by 381 s. 1012.32; documentation of a minimum education level of a high 382 school diploma or equivalent; and completion of an initial 383 orientation and training program in district policies and 384 procedures addressing school safety and security procedures, 385 educational liability laws, professional responsibilities, and 386 ethics. 387 (b) Part-time and full-time teachers in adult education 388 programs. The qualifications shall require the filing of a 389 complete set of fingerprints in the same manner as required by 390 s. 1012.32. Faculty employed solely to conduct postsecondary 391 instruction may be exempted from this requirement. 392 (c) Part-time and full-time nondegreed teachers of career 393 programs. Qualifications shall be established for nondegreed 394 teachers of career and technical education courses for program 395 clusters that are recognized in this stateagriculture,396business, health occupations, family and consumer sciences,397industrial, marketing, career specialist, and public service398education teachers, based primarily on successful occupational 399 experience rather than academic training. The qualifications for 400 such teachers shall require: 401 1. The filing of a complete set of fingerprints in the same 402 manner as required by s. 1012.32. Faculty employed solely to 403 conduct postsecondary instruction may be exempted from this 404 requirement. 405 2. Documentation of education and successful occupational 406 experience including documentation of: 407 a. A high school diploma or the equivalent. 408 b. Completion of 6 years of full-time successful 409 occupational experience or the equivalent of part-time 410 experience in the teaching specialization area. The district 411 school board may establish alternative qualifications for 412 teachers who hold industry certificates in the career areas in 413 which they teach.Alternate means of determining successful414occupational experience may be established by the district415school board.416 c. Industry certification if state or national industry 417 certifications are available and applicable. 418 d.c.Completion of career education training conducted 419 through the local school district inservice master plan. 420 e.d.For full-time teachers, completion of professional 421 education training in teaching methods, course construction, 422 lesson planning and evaluation, and teaching special needs 423 students. This training may be completed through coursework from 424 an accredited or approved institution or an approved district 425 teacher education program. 426 f.e.Demonstration of successful teaching performance. 427 Section 6. Section 1003.4935, Florida Statutes, is created 428 to read: 429 1003.4935 Middle school career and professional academy 430 courses.— 431 (1) Beginning with the 2011-2012 school year, each district 432 school board, in collaboration with regional workforce boards, 433 economic development agencies, and state-approved postsecondary 434 institutions, shall include plans to implement a career and 435 professional academy in at least one middle school in the 436 district as part of the strategic 5-year plan pursuant to s. 437 1003.491(2). The middle school career and professional academy 438 component of the strategic plan must ensure the transition of 439 middle school career and professional academy students to a high 440 school career and professional academy currently operating 441 within the school district. Students who complete a middle 442 school career and professional academy must have the opportunity 443 to earn an industry certificate and high school credit and 444 participate in career planning, job shadowing, and business 445 leadership development activities. 446 (2) Each middle school career and professional academy must 447 be aligned with at least one high school career and professional 448 academy offered in the district and maintain partnerships with 449 local business and industry and economic development boards. 450 Middle school career and professional academies must: 451 (a) Provide instruction in courses leading to careers in 452 occupations designated as high growth, high demand, and high pay 453 in the Industry Certification Funding List approved under rules 454 adopted by the State Board of Education; 455 (b) Offer career and professional academy courses that 456 integrate content from core subject areas; 457 (c) Offer courses that integrate career and professional 458 academy content with intensive reading and mathematics pursuant 459 to s. 1003.428; 460 (d) Coordinate with high schools to maximize opportunities 461 for middle school career and professional academy students to 462 earn high school credit; 463 (e) Provide access to virtual instruction courses aligned 464 to state curriculum standards for middle school career and 465 professional academy students, with priority given to students 466 who have required course deficits; 467 (f) Provide instruction from highly skilled professionals 468 who hold industry certificates in the career area in which they 469 teach; 470 (g) Offer externships; and 471 (h) Provide personalized student advisement to include a 472 parent-participation component. 473 (3) Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, the 474 Department of Education shall collect and report student 475 achievement data pursuant to performance factors identified 476 under s. 1003.492(3) for middle school career and professional 477 academy students. 478 Section 7. Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 479 1008.34, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 480 1008.34 School grading system; school report cards; 481 district grade.— 482 (3) DESIGNATION OF SCHOOL GRADES.— 483 (b)1. A school’s grade shall be based on a combination of: 484 a. Student achievement scores, including achievement on all 485 FCAT assessments administered under s. 1008.22(3)(c)1., end-of 486 course assessments administered under s. 1008.22(3)(c)2.a., and 487 achievement scores for students seeking a special diploma. 488 b. Student learning gains in reading and mathematics as 489 measured by FCAT and end-of-course assessments, as described in 490 s. 1008.22(3)(c)1. and 2.a. Learning gains for students seeking 491 a special diploma, as measured by an alternate assessment tool, 492 shall be included not later than the 2009-2010 school year. 493 c. Improvement of the lowest 25th percentile of students in 494 the school in reading and mathematics on the FCAT or end-of 495 course assessments described in s. 1008.22(3)(c)2.a., unless 496 these students are exhibiting satisfactory performance. 497 2. Beginning with the 2009-2010 school year for schools 498 comprised of high school grades 9, 10, 11, and 12, or grades 10, 499 11, and 12, 50 percent of the school grade shall be based on a 500 combination of the factors listed in sub-subparagraphs 1.a.-c. 501 and the remaining 50 percent on the following factors: 502 a. The high school graduation rate of the school; 503 b. As valid data becomes available, the performance and 504 participation of the school’s students in College Board Advanced 505 Placement courses, International Baccalaureate courses, dual 506 enrollment courses, and Advanced International Certificate of 507 Education courses; and the students’ achievement of national 508 industry certification identified in the Industry Certification 509 Funding List, pursuant to rules adopted by the State Board of 510 Education; 511 c. Postsecondary readiness of the school’s students as 512 measured by the SAT, ACT, or the common placement test; 513 d. The high school graduation rate of at-risk students who 514 scored at Level 2 or lower on the grade 8 FCAT Reading and 515 Mathematics examinations; 516 e. As valid data becomes available, the performance of the 517 school’s students on statewide standardized end-of-course 518 assessments administered under s. 1008.22(3)(c)2.b. and c.; and 519 f. The growth or decline in the components listed in sub 520 subparagraphs a.-e. from year to year. 521 3. Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year for schools 522 comprised of middle school grades 6, 7, and 8, or grades 7, 8, 523 and 9, 50 percent of the school grade shall be based on a 524 combination of the factors listed in sub-subparagraphs 1.a.-c. 525 and the remaining 50 percent on the following factors: 526 a. As valid data becomes available, the participation of 527 the school’s students in career and professional academies under 528 s. 1003.4935; 529 b. As valid data becomes available, the students’ 530 attainment of national industry certification identified in the 531 Industry Certification Funding List pursuant to rules adopted by 532 the State Board of Education; 533 c. As valid data becomes available, the performance of the 534 school’s students on statewide standardized end-of-course 535 assessments administered under s. 1008.22(3)(c)2.b. and c.; and 536 d. The growth or decline in the components listed in sub 537 subparagraphs a.-c. from year to year. 538 Section 8. This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.